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To what extent do you feel that the presentation of Gertrude and Ophelia now create much more sympathy than in Shakespeare's time.
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| Submitted: Tue Sep 30 2003
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To what extent do you feel that the presentation of Gertrude and Ophelia now create much more sympathy than in Shakespeare's time In Shakespeare's time a woman's status in society was very much based upon their fathers or husbands success. This subsidiary status was based on religious conceptions of hierarchy whereby according to the medieval church, 'Adam was created first, and Eve from his body; she was created specifically to give him comfort, and was to be subordinate to him, to obey him and to accept her lesser status.' Furthermore, it was also based on the renaissance stereotype of women, which was split between the Virgin Mary and the Whore of Babylon. The Virgin Mary being represented by Ophelia to show her innocence and purity, and the Whore of Babylon by Gertrude to show her impurity and experience. These misconceptions show that although Shakespeare uses Gertrude to portray his view...
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